The Kash Patel MG Show interview inspired my latest political cartoon, From “I” to “WE,” through something remarkably small: a single pronoun. Holding the Blueprints!

From “I” to “WE”: The MG Show Interview That Inspired My Kash Patel FBI Political Cartoon

My latest Kash Patel FBI political cartoon, From “I” to “WE,” began with something remarkably small: a pronoun.

While listening to former FBI agents Chris Hinkle and John Nantz discuss their interview with FBI Director Kash Patel on the MG Show, one observation immediately struck me as a political cartoonist.

Hinkle said of Patel:

“He rarely mentions, I did this or I did that. He says we.”

That was it.

I → WE.

Sometimes an entire political cartoon is hiding inside two letters. I was like OMG it is so simple, yet so sophisticated.

Inside the Bureau: Hinkle and Nantz Discuss Their Kash Patel Interview

The inspiration came while I was listening to the MG Show episode Inside the Bureau: Nantz & Hinkle Break Down Their Interview with Dir. Kash Patel.

The MG Show, hosted by Jeffrey Pedersen and Shannon Townsend, covers American politics from a strongly pro-Trump perspective. In 2026, the program was listed at #6 on MillionPodcasts’ “Top 70 Donald Trump Podcasts of 2026,” placing it prominently within that publication’s ranking of Trump-focused podcasts. Number 6 wow!

For this episode, the hosts were joined by Chris Hinkle and John Nantz, two former FBI supervisory special agents who had recently sat down for an extended interview with FBI Director Kash Patel.

Hinkle served as a federal agent for 25 years and led the FBI’s Civil Rights Program in Mississippi. Nantz is also a former FBI supervisory special agent and has subsequently written and commented on law enforcement, national security and political issues.

https://www.jjnpremier.com/about-subpage

https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118824/witnesses/HHRG-119-QJ00-Bio-NantzJ-20260114.pdf

Their conversation was particularly interesting because they were discussing the Bureau as people who had actually worked inside it.

They addressed changes taking place under Patel, the relationship between FBI leadership and the broader Trump administration, transparency, accountability, personnel and the public perception of the Bureau.

But amid all of those large subjects, it was one small linguistic observation that caught my attention.

“He Says We”

At approximately 26:05 in the MG Show discussion, Hinkle talks about Patel’s way of describing the work taking place at the FBI.

He observes that Patel rarely speaks in terms of:

“I did this” or “I did that.”

Instead, Hinkle says:

“He says we.”

Hinkle then connects Patel’s language to the larger administration, noting that Patel gives President Donald Trump credit for the broader vision.

For me, the artistic possibilities were immediate.

The letter I represents the individual.

WE represents the group.

And conveniently, one of those words was already hiding inside the initials of the institution being discussed:

F B I.

What if the FBI itself were undergoing a renovation?

Turning FBI Into “FBWE”

That became the central joke of the cartoon. It is cool, huh?

I imagined FBI workers outside a monumental Washington government building engaged in an enormous construction project. the Reagan Building. Such delicate linework took me 3 days.

On the left, a crane is taking down the gigantic “I” from FBI.

On the right, another crane is lifting its replacement:

“WE.”

For one ridiculous moment, the familiar initials become:

FBWE.

It is intentionally absurd, but that absurdity allows the idea to register almost instantly.

The institution isn’t merely receiving a new sign.

It is changing its pronoun. Everybody is served!

In the foreground stands my caricature of Kash Patel, overseeing the renovation while FBI workers carry out the transformation.

The workers were important to the composition. If Patel himself were physically changing the letters, the image would ironically become another picture about “I.”

Instead, he directs while the people of the institution perform the work. he holds the blueprint. A Dollar sign is on his tie, because well, he is KASH!

That makes the visual metaphor correspond more closely to the observation that inspired it.

Why I Used the Ronald Reagan Building

The architecture also mattered.

Rather than using a generic government façade, I based the setting on Washington’s monumental Ronald Reagan Building.

Its columns, curved façade and imposing federal architecture give the cartoon the scale I wanted. The building almost becomes another character in the scene. What a beauty. So lovely to look at and draw. Ancient possibly! Roman like! Historically preserved forever! I did not like the old one too much, compared to this one!

Political institutions often appear permanent. They are stone, columns, seals, signs and bureaucracy. So lucky to have that building!

Construction equipment introduces the opposite idea:

change.

Cranes arrive. Workers put on hard hats. Signs announce renovations. Something old comes down and something new goes up.

That contrast became an important part of the finished drawing.

A Political Cartoon About One Pronoun

What interested me most was how much political meaning could be placed inside something as ordinary as I and we.

Leadership is usually portrayed through presidents, directors, podiums, executive orders and official seals.

Here, leadership is represented through grammar.

The Kash Patel Mg Show Interview Political cartoon asks whether an institution is centered on the individual at the top, or on the people carrying out its mission.

It also reflects Hinkle’s description of Patel as someone who places the FBI’s work within the larger direction established by President Trump rather than continually presenting accomplishments as his own personal achievements.

Whether one agrees with that assessment or not, it is an unusually visual observation.

And political cartoonists live for visual observations. You know that, everything is symbols! I wanted to put in more, but I have been told to simplify!

The Larger FBI Conversation

Hinkle and Nantz’s MG Show appearance went well beyond pronouns.

They discussed what they see as significant changes taking place inside the Bureau under Patel, including questions of leadership, accountability, transparency and the relationship between the FBI, the Department of Justice and the White House. I had to hear it three or four times, there was so much left unsaid, unfinished, hints, sometimes thread interrupted, and sometimes they came right out and said it.

One particularly interesting theme was the distinction between accountability and revenge.

Another was the changing role of social media. During the discussion, social media is described both as an information battleground and as a mechanism through which institutions can communicate more directly with the public. There were some really good quotes about foreign interference.

Those tensions could probably produce several more cartoons on their own.

The interview also repeatedly returned to the idea that the FBI should not be reduced to whichever director happens to occupy the top office. Hinkle and Nantz defended the ordinary men and women of the Bureau while focusing much of their criticism of the FBI’s previous problems on leadership. Also, Mueller, Wray, Comey, were discussed. And LEGATS.

From Political Cartoon to Collectible Canvas

I created From “I” to “WE” in August 2026 as part of my continuing body of American political cartoons.

The finished illustration combines caricature, architectural drawing, exaggerated typography and visual symbolism. Patel dominates the foreground while the cranes, workers and monumental architecture create a second narrative behind him.

The original composition has also been reproduced as a 20 × 30 inch fine-art canvas, a scale large enough for the smaller construction details and architectural elements to remain part of the viewing experience.

From across the room, you see Kash Patel and the enormous letters.

Move closer, and the workers, cranes, signs and details begin telling the rest of the story.

That is how I want these political cartoons to function, not simply as disposable reactions to the day’s news, but as illustrated records of the personalities, arguments and strange little phrases that define a political moment. I enjoyed every line of drawing this, which I listened to the interview while drawing it.

“He says we.”

And sometimes two letters are enough to make a cartoon.

— Maria Grasmick

From “I” to “WE” • Original Political Cartoon • August 2026

ORDER HERE THE CANVAS PRINT

Kash Patel FBI Political Cartoon | From I to WE 2026

One detail from the Kash Patel MG Show interview immediately stood out to me as a political cartoonist. Find out here, you will love this show so much. I think it is my favorite so far!

Kash Patel Mg Show Interview with the man himself

https://rumble.com/v1pbwtj-a-conversation-with-kash-patel-iii.html